Guilty Until Proven Innocent
by Nyx and Athena
Summary: "This is it," she whispered, before turning and walking away. Falling is so different from flying. - "Right, because we're all are totally ok. My best mate's in a mental ward, remember?" She doesn't yell. She never does, even when she wants to scream. - "We're all so different now, aren't we? We're all guilty, of killing and hurting. Misfits indeed."


Title: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Summary: "This is it," she whispered, before turning and walking away. Falling is so different from flying. - "Right, because we're all are totally ok. My best mate's in a mental ward, remember?" She doesn't yell. She never does, even when she wants to scream. - "We're all so different now, aren't we? We're all guilty, of killing and hurting. Misfits indeed." She blinks away the tears. Seren, Luminescence, and Hyacinth. Their world hadn't been perfect either.

Extra Notes: This is AU. I suggest reading Nemesism first, since Unraveled is the prequel to that story. Other then that . . . well, hop on the rollercoaster. And hang on tight. We wouldn't want you falling off.

* * *

A short girl ran through a wall, 2 other girls behind her. The emerged onto a different platform, Platform 9 and 3/4. The short girl turned to her friends, a look of wonder on her face. One of them had the same expression on her face, but the other didn't look nearly as surprised. Well, the other didn't seem to be paying attention. She looked rather unfocused as one girl began to talk.

"Merlin, this is it," she sighed, turning around in a circle as she openly stared at the Hogwarts Express.

"Yeah," the short girl said. She had short, light brown hair. She was around 4'8", give or take. Her eyes were a periwinkle blue, sharp and hard as steel. She had a round face, with a button nose.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" the blonde girl said absently.

The blonde's hair was a very pale blonde, and extremely curly. It hung right below her shoulders and was rather frizzy. She ran a hand through it, doing her best to tame it some. The girl had blue-green eyes that seemed to be trained at nothing at all. Her gaze seem to go right through everything, as if it were all transparent and there was nothing to look at. She was skinny with fair skin. The girl was around 5 feet or so. She seemed to be in the middle height-wise, seeing as one girl was extremely short for her age and the other was rather tall.

The tall girl rolled her eyes. "Luminescence Shaw! Try to be a bit more excited!" she admonished. Luminescence didn't even blink. Just then, two adults approached. One of them, a woman, closely resembled Luminescence. She had the same blonde hair, and pale skin.

The other, however, had Luminescence's blue eyes, but the similarities stopped there. He was tan, with short black hair. The shorter girl veered away, blending in with the crowd.

"I want good grades, Luminescence. The Shaw name will not be disgraced. Selene has been mingling with Mudbloods—I trust you won't follow in her footsteps," the man said, arms crossed. He barely looked at Luminescence, who nodded.

"Yes Father. I won't do anything of the sort, Father."

"Good girl. I'll see you at Christmas time." With that, Mr. Shaw walked away. The woman bent down, looking Lumin in the eye.

"Be good, Lumin." She hugged Luminescence tightly, before pulling away. Luminescence nodded, stepping back.

"I will, Mum. See you soon." She gave Mrs. Shaw a small wave, then boarded the train. The short girl got on as well, a frown on her face. Luminescence looked sympathetic.

"At least you got to say bye to them before we went to the barrier," Luminescence pointed out, trying to cheer the girl up. The girl shrugged, simply watching the tall girl, who looked around before sighing. Turning back to her friends, the girl tried to smile, but failed. She got onto the train.

This girl had glossy black hair and a heart-shaped face. Her hair hung to her waist. She was around 5'4", maybe a bit less. She had dark brown almond eyes and dark, tan skin. She seemed a tad uptight, but she had a warm smile on her face as she walked around the Hogwarts Express, looking for a compartment. Her eyes seemed to dance as she walked along the train.

"Come on, you two," the girl said, walking down the hall. The girls followed her, catching up quickly.

"Hyacinth!" Luminescence gestured to the empty compartment that the other girls had previously ignored. The girls quickly walked inside, plopping down on the seats. The brown-haired girl and Hyacinth shared a look, inwardly rolling their eyes. Of course _Lumin _would notice the compartment that they'd missed.

"Seren!" Hyacinth said brightly to the short girl. "What House do you think you'll get into?" Seren sighed, staring out the window dejectedly.

"I'll be lucky if I even get into a House at all," she muttered, just loud enough for her friends to hear.

"Don't say that," Hyacinth said sharply. Luminescence just laughed.

"Anyone magical gets the Hogwarts letter, so obviously you'll get into a House, Seren." The thought seemed to comfort Seren, and a small smile crept over her face as she turned to Luminescence and Hyacinth.

"Well, Lumin'll definitely end up in Ravenclaw," she said thoughtfully. "Hm . . . I think Cinth'll get into either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I wonder where I'll end up ..."

"Slytherin," Hyacinth said immediately. Lumin looked over Seren, then finally nodded.

"While you're a whole lot nicer around us," Lumin began, "you're pretty cunning, and you have the typical snide-and-icy persona that most snakes have. If I had to bet, I'd say Slytherin. Of course, there's the whole Mudblood thing—" The words died on Lumin's lips as she stared at Seren in horror. Hyacinth's mouth formed a pink "O" as she stared at the two. Seren snapped out of it first.

"It's ok," she said, a tight smile on her face. "Simply the way you were brought up." Lumin was a Pureblood. Her family despised Muggleborns and Muggle-loving Purebloods. They had accepted Lumin's friendship with Hyacinth, but only barely. They didn't know about Seren. Lumin had only met the girl by chance.

Hyacinth had invited both girls over, but hadn't told Lumin's parents about Seren. Hyacinth's mother had agreed, but said that Lumin's mother wasn't too bad, and perhaps later, Hyacinth could tell Mrs. Shaw.

Lumin had gotten over the whole Seren-Muggle thing, but it was merely a bit difficult to break her out of her habits.

"Sorry, Seren," Lumin said quietly. Seren nodded.

"I told you, Lumin. It's fine," she responded. Lumin let out a small breath, but smiled anyway.

"I still think you'll end up in Slytherin."

"I still think you'll end up in Ravenclaw." Hyacinth laughed at Seren's reply, then chimed in as well.

"I still think you two idiots are mental."

* * *

"Christ, Cinth. Relax," Seren said, rolling her eyes as Brown, Violet went into Gryffindor. Hyacinth was wring her hands, looking worried and nervous. Lumin was watching in relaxed silence. Her expression screamed I'm-a-Pureblood-and-bored-with-you. Seren observed with mild interest, hiding her true feelings. Hyacinth continued to wring her hands.

"I'm nervous, Seren. Now shut up," came the response. Seren put her hands up, taking a step back.

"Excuse you," she said, sticking out her tongue. The girls continued to listen to the Sorting.

"Hayden, Seren!" McGonagall called. Seren walked up to the Sorting Hat, not looking nervous in the slightest. She placed the Sorting Hat on her light brown hair, blue eyes scanning the Great Hall. The Hat jumped into her mind.

_Ah ... strategic, very cunning ... sharp, cynical ... aha! This'll be a large surprise to the others ... yes, yes. I think I know exactly where to put you, Miss Hayden!_

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted. Seren kept her face blank as she took off the hat and set it down. She flashed a smile at Hyacinth and Lumin, who were grinning. The blue-eyed girl walked to the Slytherin table, sitting down.

Soon after, it was Hyacinth's turn.

"Lake, Hyacinth!" McGonagall said. Hyacinth walked up, knees shaking. A small, nervous smile played on her lips before she steeled herself. Keeping her face blank the way Lumin taught her, the black-haired girl took the Hat and tugged it over her head.

_Hm . . . friends with Miss Hayden, are you now? You're brave . . . you just need to unleash it. Very loyal . . . but I think you need to become a tad more confident._

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat screamed. Hyacinth let a relieved smile creep over her face. Setting it down, she walked over to the mass of red and gold. A golden-haired girl—Bornstein, Olivia—scooted over to make room for her.

Finally, it was Lumin's turn.

"Shaw, Luminescence!" McGonagall said, eyes sweeping over the crowd. Lumin walked forward, eyes unfocused. She absently put on the hat. From the Ravenclaw table, her older sister, Selene, flashed Lumin a smile. Sirius Black gave Lumin a little wave as well. They were both Purebloods, which meant occasionally meeting up. Lumin didn't _think _they were related . . . she might've been a 6th cousin 4 times removed. It was a possibility, really. Lumin felt the Hat enter her mind.

_Miss Shaw! Oh, I do believe I had the pleasure of Sorting your older sister. She was interesting . . . you are too, you know. Very unique . . . very intelligent and perceptive, my! Creative . . . witty as well. I do believe I know just the House for you!_

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat hollered. Luminescence took off the hat and set it down, then walked over to the Ravenclaw table. Selene smiled at her sister, welcoming her over.

"Glad you're here, little sis." Lumin smiled as well.

"Me too, Selene."

* * *

Hyacinth picked at her food, eyes occasionally glancing upwards. Other freshly Sorted Gryffindors were laughing and joking with their friends. Sighing, Hyacinth pushed her plate away.

"No Seren, no Lumin ... how on Earth am I going to survive?" she muttered, glaring at the table. It was then that she heard a small creak. Looking up, she saw a redheaded girl sitting in front of her. She had emerald green eyes and a smattering of freckles.

"Uh ... hi?" she said, a bit awkwardly. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans. What's your name?" she asked.

"Hyacinth," Hyacinth responded, a bit shortly. She immediately felt bad. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's just ... well, both of my mates got Sorted into different Houses, so ..." Lily looked sympathetic.

"Yeah, same here. My best friend went into Slytherin, and I got into Gryffindor. I think I would've preferred Slytherin—Gryffindor's filled with gits like Sirius Black and James Potter," Lily groused. Hyacinth slapped her forehead.

"Of course! I should've paid more attention—Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor!" Hyacinth rose, eyes scanning the table.

"Oi, Sirius!" she called, grinning when his head turned around. Sirius got up, and strode (well, strutted) down to Hyacinth, along with a boy with curly black hair and hazel eyes.

"Budge over, would you?" Sirius said. Hyacinth rolled her eyes, but did as she was told.

"So, you ended up here?" he asked, taking a roll. Lily watched silently, looking surprised. Sirius's friend plopped down next to her. She instantly scooted away, glaring at him.

"Yeah. Seren's in Slytherin. Lumin's in—" Hyacinth was cut off, however.

"Ravenclaw, I know. Do you really think I'd miss her Sorting? I'm not _that_ self-absorbed."

"Really, Black? I have yet to see you perform an action that doesn't scream 'self-centered'," Lily said acidly, eyeing him and his friend with contempt.

"You're hanging out with Evans?" Sirius looked incredulous. Hyacinth rolled her eyes.

"Rude," she reprimanded him. "Now, I s'pose you two have already met. However ... Sirius, who's your friend?" Hyacinth asked, shooting Lily a look that read 'ignore him'.

"Ah, right! Hyacinth Lake, meet James Potter. James Potter, meet Hyacinth Lake. You know, I'll have to introduce you to Seren and Lumes ..." he trailed off. James raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't she just say Seren is a Slytherin?" he asked, looking mildly disgusted. Lily gave him a glare. Hyacinth groaned.

"Well, yeah," Sirius responded. "She's cool, though. Same with Lumin. Lumin's in Ravenclaw—see that girl with the frizzy, curly blonde hair? Looks a bit blank, kinda unfocused? That's Lumin. And no, she's not some wanker, she's actually extremely perceptive and will know everything about you in like, 2 seconds. Seren's the girl with short brown hair. Cherub-like face, but not really. She's growing out of that, though she still has that button nose." Sirius grinned, slinging an arm over Hyacinth, who scowled.

"Aw, Cinthy's gonna hang out with the big kids!" He gave her a small pat on the head. Hyacinth squirmed.

"Stop," she moaned. "You're the most annoying prat ever."

* * *

Seren twirled her fork in her hand, looking around. Lumin was sitting next to Selene. Seren was pretty sure she saw Hyacinth with Sirius, along with some curly-haired boy and a redhead, though she couldn't be sure from the distance. There was a small group sitting a bit from her. A hook-nosed, greasy-haired boy was a couple of feet away, seemingly alone. A pair of twins sat right in front of her, not saying anything.

Until now.

"Eleanor Greengrass," one of them said. The pair were identical: same brown hair, same blue eyes, and same pale skin.

"Victoria Greengrass," the other muttered.

"Seren Hayden," Seren replied. "Lovely to meet you. Charmed, really." Seren peered at them, trying to find a difference. She would need to be able to tell them apart ...

"Muggleborn?" Victoria asked, rather quietly. "No pureblood has the last name of Hayden, and while you could be a halfblood ... doubtful. Ellie?"

"Most likely," Eleanor agreed. "So, Miss Hayden. I believe you need a bit of a warning. And some help from us. Slytherin isn't accepting of Muggleborns or people with relations to the non-magical folk. But if you stick with us ... well, you'll be a bit safer."

"The Greengrasses are well-respected. Ellie and I are already learning about politics and business. You'll need someone at your side if you wish to make it anywhere in the Wizarding World. Neutrals like the Zabinis, Notts, and of course Greengrasses are the type you need to fraternize with," Victoria put in.

Seren's head was whirling. 2 seconds in, and she had two possible allies. Should she take the offer? It'd be smart ... of course, the twins could be backstabbers and this could be a bad idea.

_Well then, _Seren thought, _I suppose I'll just have to be careful._

"How about we make a deal?" Seren asked slyly. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

"What could you possibly do for us?" Eleanor asked.

"We shouldn't bother ... many people will be angry with us," Victoria pointed out.

"What makes you any different from the other Muggleborns, hm?" Eleanor questioned.

"She's nothing in the grand scheme of things," Victoria said.

"Well ... I'm friends with Luminescence Shaw," Seren said. Sirius and Lumin had given her a "crash course", so to speak, on the Wizarding World. Hyacinth had put some stuff in as well. Eleanor and Victoria exchanged glances.

"Quite an achievement, I admit," Eleanor responded, tapping her fingers along the table.

"But we want more than that. Luminescence Shaw is not what we're looking for," Victoria finished, almost condescendingly.

"How about ... Sirius Black?" Seren asked. At this, Eleanor turned to Victoria, whispering. Victoria said something back. Straining her ears, Seren managed to catch some of it.

"Maybe ... true, true ... Father won't be happy ... no, terrible idea ... wants us to do other things ... yeah, that's good." The twins turned back to Seren, nodding.

"Deal."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Omigods the first chapter of GUPL! So, surprise surprise. Young Seren's a tad different ... well, then again, right now she doesn't have DID, she's not insane, not Dark, not ... well, you get the point.**

**Sorry that it was so Lumin-lite. But I feel that Seren's going to have the most issues, than Cinth, and THEN Lumin. Oops, spoilers. Of course, Nemesism is basically just a whole spoiler, but ... yeah. So, do you guys want me to do first year, second year, third year, etc., or just have a clever little line such as this:**

_**5/6/7 years later ...**_

**Your choice! Remember, R&R! F&F! **

**-N**

**P.S. Athena says hi.**


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